“New Math” is the new comedy

Most nights, as I go to bed, I'll watch some TV. On weeknights, I usually watch the late night shows. But that doesn't work on Sunday nights, so I tend to flip through channels.

At some point, I surfed onto Comedy Central's "Stand-up Showdown 2010."

I'm so glad I did.

Number 2 ("that sounds like a bathroom code") on their list was Bo Burnham, and his stand-up special was amazing.

Musical comedy is really hot right now, thanks to the success of comedians like Flight of the Conchords and The Lonely Island. Burnham does the same sort of comedy, and in my mind, it's just as quality.

The difference is that he's only one guy, and he's only 19. He's younger than most of my students.

He's also pretty raunchy and very non-PC, but a lot of good comedy is. My favorite part of his comedy, though, is his wordplay, which is generally incredibly smart and well-informed if, again, a little non-PC. And by "a little," I mean a lot. He claims he's satirizing in many cases, and good satire is usually purposefully unsettling. Either way, his comedy may be NSFW.

Burnham is incredibly hilarious, and I'm going to keep an eye on him. He's apparently writing a movie for Judd Apatow. But after watching his videos all morning, the only things that surprise me are that Austin didn't find him earlier (since he's a YouTube celebrity) and he's #2 on Comedy Central's list. He should be #1.

Event of the Week:

I've been a bit sick over the past couple days, including a fever Saturday, so the EotW is when I get better.